Cubs' Lester wants better performance against Nationals (Aug 06, 2017)
CHICAGO -- Jon Lester's last start featured some highlights -- including his first major league home run -- but overall the Chicago Cubs left-hander was not satisfied with his performance.
The 12-year veteran recorded his 2,000th career strikeout against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday. Yet he lasted just four innings, throwing 104 pitches and allowing three runs in a 16-4 Cubs victory.
"I'll trade that home run in a heartbeat for a win," Lester told MLB.com after the game. "That's my job -- my job is to pitch deep into games, give innings, give our guys quality starts and then hand it off to the bullpen, and I didn't do that tonight."
Lester (8-6, 3.96 ERA) makes his next start Sunday afternoon in the Cubs' series finale against the Washington Nationals at Wrigley Field.
The division leaders split the first two games of the series, with the Nationals taking the opener 4-2 and the Cubs winning 7-4 Saturday.
Lester is 2-1 with a 2.53 ERA in five career starts against the Nationals, and he allowed one run and three hits in six innings without getting a decision in his only start against Washington this season.
Lester is 3-0 with a 2.77 ERA in four starts since the All-Star break.
For the Nationals (64-44), rookie right-hander Erick Fedde (0-1, 15.75) will start. The 24-year-old was the Nationals' first-round draft pick in 2014 and their top pitching prospect.
Fedde made his major league debut July 30, allowing seven runs and 10 hits in just four innings against the Colorado Rockies.
"I'm definitely not happy with the results, but I felt like my stuff was pretty good," Fedde told the Washington Post after the start. "I guess a lot of balls landed in good spots for them, but it's one where I still need to make better pitches and get better results."
Fedde was called up to start in place of right-hander Stephen Strasburg, who is on the disabled list for a right elbow nerve impingement.
"If we had to pick a first time out for him, we probably wouldn't have picked Colorado -- that's just how it was -- because Colorado can hit. ... It was a tough assignment," Nationals manager Dusty Baker told the Post.
After the start, the Nationals optioned Fedde to Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday. He was recalled again Saturday to again help the rotation.
Strasburg remains out, and right-hander Max Scherzer is sidelined with neck stiffness but has been targeting a Monday return against Miami.
Fedde took the starting spot of left-hander Gio Gonzalez, who went on the paternity list Saturday.
The National League East-leading Nationals are a league-best 35-22 on the road. They're tied with the Cubs 3-3 in their season series.
The reigning World Series champion Cubs (58-51) snapped their three-game losing streak Saturday and improved to 15-6 in the second half after they were 43-45 at the All-Star Break.
"I feel good about how we stack up against everybody else," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "But we have to be more consistent against better pitching from the offensive perspective, and our starting pitching has to continue to do what they're doing right now."
